 |
 |
| Points of Truth Ministries | Crusade Church of God |
Were all animals created to be eaten by people? Did God make some animals clean to eat and some unclean to eat? Why did God tell Noah to take seven pairs each of clean animals on the Ark but only one pair each of the unclean animals? Since Noah lived long before Moses we must conclude that the Law of clean and unclean animals existed before God gave it to Moses. This strongly suggests that the idea of clean and unclean animals was common knowledge before the Sinai Covenant. This also strongly suggests that this Law was not for Israel alone but for all men. Did God forbid the Children of Israel from eating unclean animals for ceremonial reasons or to protect their health? Some animals, such as the deer and gazelle are clean to eat but unclean to offer as a sacrifice to God. By the Old Testament Scriptures it is clear that certain animals were pronounced unclean to eat. What about the New Testament? Did Jesus and His Apostles make a change in this Law? Do the New Testament Scriptures permit Christians to eat unclean animals? What about after the return of Jesus and the establishment of God’s Kingdom on the earth, -will people be allowed to eat any animal they want?
Genesis 6 / Genesis 7 / Genesis 9
Scripture__________ ❖ Noah was a ____________ man, ___________ in his time: Noah ________ with God. Scripture__________ ❖ Mankind was so wicked that God decided to destroy the world with a __________ Scripture__________ ❖ God instructed Noah to build an _____ of gopher wood in order to preserve living things Scripture__________ ❖ “Take for yourself some of all food which is __________ and gather it to yourself.” Scripture__________ ❖ Does this imply that some foods were not edible for Noah and his family? _______ ❖ “You shall bring _____of every kind into the ark, to keep them ______with you-male and female” Scripture__________ ❖ “You shall take with you of every clean animal by _________, a male and his female.” Scripture__________ ❖ After the flood God told Noah that He gave him every moving thing as ________ for him Scripture__________ ❖ After the flood God told Noah that He gave him the green __________ as food for him Scripture__________ Commentary: Was God telling Noah that he had permission to eat any green plant? Since the earth had been cursed, some green plants were poisonous and deadly. Was God telling Noah to eat any green plant, or any green plant which was edible for man? In Genesis 6 God told Noah to gather for himself “what was edible” to eat. Noah knew what was edible and what was not.
Scripture__________ ❖ You may eat whatever __________ the hoof, and ________ the cud Scripture__________ ❖ The rabbit is unclean though it chews the cud, it does not divide the __________ Scripture__________ ❖ The pig is unclean though it divides the hoof, it does not chew the ______ Scripture__________ ❖ Of the water creatures, all that have ______ and __________ you may eat Scripture__________ ❖ Whatever in the water that does not have fins and scales is _____________ to you. Scripture__________ ❖ Did God declare a number of birds to be unclean to eat? __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Whatever walks on its paws are __________ to you Scripture__________ ❖ Did God declare some insects as clean for food and some as unclean for food? __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Whatever crawls on its ________ . . .you shall not eat. Scripture__________ ❖ God commanded Israel to not eat unclean animals because it would make them __________ Scripture__________ ❖ “You are not to eat anything which ______ of itself.” Scripture__________ Commentary: In about 165 B.C., Jerusalem was invaded by the Syrian tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes. This man desecrated the Temple of God by erecting an idol of Zeus in it and by sacrificing a pig on the altar. The blood of an unclean animal on the altar defiled the Temple. The Jews eventually drove the Syrians out, removed the idol and painstakingly cleaned the swine’s blood from the altar. This event is commemorated today and is called “Hanukkah.” When God created the pig He pronounced it “good”, but clearly it was not good to sacrifice on the altar of the Temple of God. In fact, the presence of the blood of this unclean animal defiled the earthly dwelling place of God. Today, Christians are called the Temple of God, notice -“Do you not know that you are a TEMPLE of God, and that the spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him, for the Temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) It is only wise to consider that if God did not want unclean animals in His earthly dwelling place, perhaps He doesn’t want then inside a Christian, who is the dwelling place which Christ built. Jesus was not a wasteful person. When He fed the multitudes with the bread and fish He told His disciples to gather up the fragments left over. In Mark 5 we see that Jesus delivered a man from demons by casting them into a herd of 2000 swine. When the demons entered the swine they ran into the sea and perished. This occurred in the region of Gadara which was a Gentile area. Though these pigs were the property of some of these Gentiles who were raising them as food, Jesus shows no concern that they drowned in the sea. Jesus obviously did not view this event as a loss of food because He knew that pork was unfit for human consumption. Jesus gave no apology nor did He fix the problem by performing a miracle. With this in mind, notice Hebrews 13:8 -“Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Daniel 1:8-15 / Isaiah :65:1-7 / Isaiah 66:15-17 ❖ Daniel made up his mind that he would not __________ himself with Nebuchadnezzar’s food. Scripture__________ ❖ At the end of ten days Daniel’s appearance seemed __________ than the other youths. Scripture__________ ❖ God said - “I have spread out My Hands all day long to a ____________ people.” Scripture__________ ❖ People who walk in a way that is not ________, following their own _____________ Scripture__________ ❖ These rebellious people eat ________ flesh, and the broth of __________ meat is in their pots Scripture__________ ❖ After the return of Jesus those who eat _________ flesh, detestable things will come to an end Scripture__________ ❖ Doesn’t this clearly say that Jesus is going to abolish unclean foods during the millennium? _____ WHAT DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT SAY? Commentary: Let us understand that the only Scriptures the early Church had was the Old Testament. Speaking of these Scriptures notice what the Apostle Paul wrote, -“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) As we have seen thus far in this study, the Old Testament Scriptures clearly forbid the eating of unclean animals, and the early Church was founded upon these Scriptures. Therefore, if Jesus and His Apostles made a change in this Law, it must be clear in the New Testament writings.
“The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands. . .) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, ‘Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?’” . . .“And He said to them, (His disciples) ‘Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?’ (THUS HE DECLARED ALL FOODS CLEAN.) “And He was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murderers, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Commentary: Notice that this passage of Scripture contains two statements which are in parentheses. The first explaining that the Jewish Pharisees practiced a ceremonial washing of their hands before eating, and the second saying that Jesus was declaring all foods clean. When a statement is in parentheses it means that it was added by the translators of the Bible and is not found in the original manuscripts. This is why the statement “Thus He declared all foods clean” is not found in the King James or the New King James translations, nor in most all other versions of the Bible. I happen to use the New American Standard Translation for Scriptural references in making these Bible Lessons which unfortunately includes this personal opinion by the translators.
The Pharisees did not eat unclean meats, so the issue here is not what kind of meat is eaten but whether it is wrong to eat with unwashed hands. Jesus was not saying it did not matter what kinds of meats you eat, but that the human body was made to eliminate common impurities such as dirt. Jesus often referred to these Pharisees as hypocrites who paid much more attention to outward appearance then inward righteousness. In Matthew 23 Jesus called them “dirty cups” and said that they were clean on the outside but inside where it matters most, they were dirty. In the passage in question, Jesus was suggesting that if the Pharisees were truly sincere about obeying God that they needed to spend as much time cleansing their inner thoughts than merely their hands. Jesus was teaching that all sin which defiles the body is birthed by an inner thought. If a person dwells on a wicked thought he will soon give in to its desire and put it into practice.
Scripture__________ ❖ The next day while on his rooftop praying Peter fell into a __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Peter saw a great sheet coming down with all kinds of crawling __________ (unclean for food) Scripture__________ ❖ Peter heard a voice say “Get up, kill and eat”, he knew it was the voice of the __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Did Peter obey the voice of the Lord Jesus? __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Peter replied, “By no means Lord, I have never eaten anything ___________and ___________” Scripture__________ ❖ The Lord replied, “What God has ____________, no longer consider __________” Scripture__________ ❖ Did Peter obey the Lord and eat the second time the voice commanded him? __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Did Peter obey the Lord and eat the third time the voice commanded him? __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Did Peter understand the meaning of the vision? __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Did Peter go with the men Cornelius had sent? __________ Scripture__________ ❖ Was it unlawful for a Jew to associate with a Gentile which were considered unclean? _________ Scripture__________ ❖ Peter said, “God has shown me that I should not call any ______ unholy or unclean.” Scripture__________ ❖ Did Peter finally understand that the vision was regarding men not food? __________ Scripture__________ ❖ As a result of the vision and the falling of the holy spirit, Peter ordered them to be __________ Scripture__________ Commentary: Many readers of this passage assume that they understand the meaning of Peter’s vision. They believe that this vision was about food, yet Peter himself did not immediately know what the vision meant. When commanded to kill and eat unclean animals Peter repeatedly refused to obey the Lord. Why do you suppose he denied the Lord’s request? Do you suppose that this beloved Apostle of Jesus was being rebellious? Of course not, that would be a ridiculous thought indeed. The only explanation of why Peter rejected the Lord’s command was because he knew, and had been taught, that eating unclean meat was still wrong. Notice also that the Lord did not rebuke him each time he disobeyed the command. Why did the Lord command Peter three times? Perhaps it was because Cornelius had sent three Gentile men, and these three men happened to knock on the door at the very moment Peter was reflecting on what the vision might mean.
“ But the spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the Word of God and prayer.” Commentary: Notice that this “demonic doctrine” about food was the teaching of abstaining from food “Which God has CREATED to be gratefully shared.” Notice also, it was food that was CREATED for those “who know the TRUTH.” “Nothing is to be rejected” -Does this mean nothing at all, or nothing which God has “created to be gratefully shared?” “For it is SANCTIFIED by means of the WORD OF GOD and prayer.” Sanctify means to “set apart.” Sanctified by “the Word of God” means food that is set apart by the Word of God. The only places in the Bible which show specifically what meats are set apart for the human diet is Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Paul and Timothy were combating Gnostic teachers who had infiltrated the Church, and who were perverting true Christian teaching. Gnostics practiced asceticism, which is denying the body proper food and drink. These men believed in severe treatment of the body because they believed that flesh itself was evil.
SOME COMMON UNCLEAN ANIMALS
|
